9/11/2001, Other Poems and Short Stories (Book) - 11/19/2002 7:11:00 AM
Johana,
I got your book in the mail! WOW, it was beautiful! I read it cover to cover and then let my mom read it. You are so talented. Thank You for sharing with me. It came at such a great time, I had been having a terrible day, I got home from work, opened your package, sat down and read it. It made me forget about my problems and see things in a different perspective. It made me laugh and cry. A beautiful read.
Thank You so much. Its not often I get to come into contact with somebody with the soul and depth you posess.
9/11/2001, Other Poems and Short Stories (Book) - 11/5/2002 7:30:19 AM
Hi Johana,
I don't know you, but we have studied your epic poem "La Reine" in our poetry workshop. I have just received your new book (Professeur R. told us about it during a previous lecture). Will you publish a French edition of 9/11/2001? My English is not that bad, but I miss some of the nuances. A group of friends were reading it at a café near La Sorbonne yesterday, and gosh, do I love "Gazer", "Will you still be mine" and "Love without frontiere".
I was reading the bits about microwave ovens and thou shall forgive and laughing madly. People around looked at me with contempt.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.
9/11/2001, Other Poems and Short Stories (Book) - 11/5/2002 6:15:57 AM
To Mr. Mathiesen and Ms. Wehrenberg, thank you for your critics. I just wonder if, before you gave me such wonderful reviews, you took the time to read more than the few lines which were previously published above.
Only experts like you can judge the quality of a book of poems with so little knowledge of it.
I really appreciate the time you have taken to voice your dislike.
As a French phylosopher said: "La Critique est aiséee, mais l'Art est difficile".
Johana Smith
9/11/2001, Other Poems and Short Stories (Book) - 11/5/2002 5:41:29 AM
I was a student of one of Ms. Smith's worshop during the holidays and wonder if the 2 people who have criticized 9/11/2001 so harshly have taken the time to read the full poem. Furthermore, I am not sure they have read her book at all. I believe that if they had, they would have a totally different opinion about it than the superficial "too harsh" or "tempering of the outrage".
Demolishing someone else's art is not generally done without knowledge, and as someone who knows the author and more than a few lines from an extensive poem, I am pretty sure that this spite is unwarranted. Krysta, a student of "The Art of written expression" workshop, July 2002.
9/11/2001, Other Poems and Short Stories (Book) - 11/3/2002 1:06:24 PM
Johana
I couldn't put your book down.
Your poems brought tears to my eyes. So much pain, so much joy, so much hope and inner emotions are revealed in them. Hope to be able to buy 101 Pet Peeves soon, can't wait to finish reading your Microwave Ovens article.
9/11/2001, Other Poems and Short Stories (Book) - 11/3/2002 9:35:37 AM
Johana thank you for sharing your thoughts about September11 with us. You have voiced what a lot of us felt about this cowardly attack. I am not from the US but I did feel violated too and angry at the time.
Your poems are heartfelt and like one of your reviewer says, I wouldn't be surprised if they became classics in the future.
Can't wait for your next book.
9/11/2001, Other Poems and Short Stories (Book) - 11/2/2002 7:15:55 PM
We volunteer at a local adult detention center. Nancy manages a library, Glenn teaches HTML. It is most rewarding to see how detainees react to poems in 9/11/2001. It is as though author and detainees tune in at deep, fundamental levels. Thank you Johana Smith for sharing your sensitivities with needful individuals.
